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Four members of The Council of Canadians Hamilton chapter celebrate at Hamilton City Hall after City Council voted to accept the Healthy Food and Beverage Action Plan.

The Council of Canadians Hamilton chapter is celebrating a Hamilton city council vote in favour of a plan that will see sales of sugary drinks and bottled water drastically reduced in city recreation facilities.

Ten days ago, the Hamilton Spectator reported, "[The Healthy Food and Beverage Action Plan] does not call for an outright ban, but instead suggests the city 'reduce the availability' of bottled water and sugary drinks like pop, Gatorade, fruit juice and even slushies in vending machines and concession stands. The change would [occur in 2021] when the city's beverage contract expires with Coca Cola. ...Councillor Aidan Johnson, who asked for a study two years ago on axing bottled water sales in city facilities, said he considers the plan a 'qualified ban' and a 'carefully crafted compromise'."

The Council of Canadians held a rally today in opposition to the Kinder Morgan pipeline that drew 200+ people to Parliament Hill, 24,000 views on CBC and another 20,000 views via the Coast Protectors Facebook page.

We called this rally after federal Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced that the Trudeau government was willing to provide indemnification to Texas-based Kinder Morgan - or another investor willing to take on the pipeline - for any financial loss due to British Columbia's opposition the pipeline. While Morneau refuses to say how much the government is willing to compensate Kinder Morgan, and Infrastructure Minister Amarjeet Sohi says the public won't know until a deal is struck, a former TransCanada chief executive officer has suggested it could be a $10 billion indemnity.

Atlantic Regional Organizers Robin Tress and Angela Giles (left to right) take action on Bill C-69 outside of Darren Fisher's constituency office last Thursday. Fisher is an Environment Committee member and Member of Parliament for Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia.

Tonight a key decision will be made about Bill C-69, an omnibus bill that makes sweeping changes to Canada’s water, environmental and energy laws. In fact, this Bill hands even more power to corporations in environmental, water, and energy decision making.

At 9 p.m. this evening, the Liberal-dominated Environment Committee will shut down debate on the Bill and force a vote regardless of whether or not the committee has finished debating amendments from opposition parties.

"Economic globalization and unregulated market capitalism have divided the world – and Canada – into rich and poor as at no time in living history and endangered the ability of the planet to sustain life. Tragically, most governments support an economic system that puts unlimited growth above the vital needs of people and the planet. The Council of Canadians is part of a global civil society movement to drive transformative change in the absence of true leadership by governments."

Aine O'Connor of the Sisters of Mercy and Meera Karunananthan of the Blue Planet Project advocated for the public financing of the right to water at the United Nations in the lead-up to the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Minister of International Development Marie-Claude Bibeau will be co-hosting the G7 Finance and Development Ministerial meeting this coming May 31 to June 2 in Whistler, British Columbia. The meeting will include G7 finance ministers, development ministers and central bank governors and feed into the G7 summit taking place June 8-9 in Charlevoix, Quebec.

The Canadian Press now reports, "When G7 finance and international development ministers convene in British Columbia next week, Canada hopes the meetings will generate fresh ideas on how aid money can be leveraged to entice the private sector to boost investments in poorer parts of the world."